


Defiance of the Force

by ShinobMai



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker mentioned - Freeform, Child Ahsoka Tano, Fluff and Angst, Jedi Younglings (Star Wars), Original Character(s), Other Jedi mentioned - Freeform, Plo's POV, The Force, a bit - Freeform, and it is not happy with Plo, breifly, it has a very strong will, mentions of. Force gods and goddesses, not how the force works but eh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29431485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinobMai/pseuds/ShinobMai
Summary: Plo had a soft spot for all children but one was held a bit closer to his heart than others which would leave him to defy the will of the Force.orThe Force takes a special interest in young Ahsoka and Plo may never let her out of his sight again.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Mace Windu, Ahsoka Tano & Yoda, Plo Koon & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	Defiance of the Force

**Author's Note:**

> i seem to write only at 2am. It starts off with fluff and slowly morphs into a mess

Plo Koon loved children. Everyone knew it. Everyone also knew that he had an extra soft spot for his Foundlings. His newest one, a young Togruta by the name of Ahsoka, was held a little closer to his heart than most. In the last year alone since he had brought her to the Temple he often found himself making his way to the crèche. 

Now was no different. There was something about her pure happiness that filled the Force around her that drew him and so many others in. So it was with little guilt that he scooped her up in his arms as she came running towards him with an excited "Master Plo!", and made a hasty exit. 

Ahsoka was talking a mile per minute, no subjects left untouched. Currently she was informing him of how she had snuck a tooka into the Temple and the enviable finding of it by her crèche master. 

"Master Permian said that Spikes had to go back to the Park where I had found him on our last field trip." She pouted a bit more. "I don't see why though. He was happy here." 

He set her down in one of the lesser used gardens with a chuckle. Making sure to take her by the hand before she could wander off. Acquiring a tooka and trying to keep it in the Temple was an age old tradition. There were only two ways it usually ended. Peacefully with the child either getting caught with it or willingly giving it up to be released back to where it was supposed to be or the more common one; chaos. Which involved a wild tooka roaming the halls of the Temple and Masters tipping or being pounced on. Fun for the younglings he was sure but not so much for the Masters. Master Nu still hasn't forgiven Padawan Yun for letting his tooka into the Archives when he was but a youngling and wrecking havoc. 

"Spikes would miss his friends if he stayed much longer here." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You would not want him to grow unhappy here would you?" 

It was silent for a while before she let out a defeated sigh. "No. I want him to be happy." 

He was proud of her putting Spikes happiness first before her own wants but he also understood that she would miss her friend. "Maybe we can visit him one day, yes?" 

Her impossibly big blue eyes widened more as they looked up at him. "Yes! Can we?" 

"Of course. Next time I come for a visit we will take a trip. Now what was this you were saying earlier about your friend winning a game of tag? Here I thought no one was as fast as you." He changed the subject hoping to distract her from feeling sad about Spikes absence. 

"No one is," she proudly boasted, "but she's special." 

"How so?" 

"Rules don't apply to her. Did you know she beat me at hide-and-seek?" 

The conversation continued in a similar light for the rest of their visit together. 

**  
  
  
**

A few weeks later as he exited the Council room he saw her wiggle her way under a couch. Promising to catch up with the others he headed in her direction. 

"Greetings Little 'Soka." 

A small head popped out from underneath and a large grin lit her face at recognition. "Master Plo!" 

"May I ask what you are doing?" 

"Hide-and-seek! I'm hiding!" She exclaimed excitedly. 

"Ahh. So I see." He made a show of glancing around as if he was expecting someone to suddenly appear, "And who is the seeker?" 

"My friend!" Her giggles filled the air. She too looked around. "She's really good at finding but I'll win this time." 

"Very well then. I'll see you soon Ahsoka." He bid her a goodbye and made haste to catch up with the other Council members. Only turning back to wave a bit at her own yelled goodbye as she ducked back underneath the couch. He made a mental note to meet this friend at some point. 

**  
  
**

Occurrences like this went on for months. Every time he would see Ahsoka he would hear of a new story that involved her friend. A game of hide and seek. A game of tag. Stories of swimming in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Adventures around the Temple that included the ventilation shafts. Each and every time he made the mental note to finally meet this friend who had become so important to his little Foundling. Each and every time something would come up and he would forget until the next time. 

**  
  
**

A comm interrupted his peaceful lunch. He thought to ignore it and finish his meal first but the steady beeping of it indicated that whoever was on the other end would not stop till it was answered. With great reluctance he answered it.

He was met with the voice of Mater Yoda. "Greetings Master Plo." 

His voice had an edge to it that immediately set Plo on alert. "Greetings to you as well Master. Was there something I could help you with?" 

The pause before he answered did nothing for Plo's nerves. "Missing a youngling is." 

Dread filled his stomach. "Who?" He asked, already expecting the answer. There was only one youngling that the Council would comm him personally for. 

"Ahsoka Tano. Missing she has been.Since this morning, her Crèche Master has been unable to find her. Wonder we did if you have seen her." 

"No. Not since last week." He let out in a hushed voice. 

He heard Yoda's own disappointed sound. "Join us in looking shall you?" 

"Send me the location to where you are and I'll be there." He said before ending the comm. Looking down at his lunch he found that he no longer had an appetite. 

**  
  
  
**

He tried his best to remain level headed and not let his worry get the best of him while Master Permian explained how Ahsoka had been in the main room with all the other younglings after an early breakfast. That she had just gone to the other room for a minute or two to gather a wayward youngling and came back to the others saying Ahsoka had gone out the doors. 

"I naturally commed Aka and had her come and watch over the other little ones as I went and searched. I checked all of the normal hideouts and when that didn't work I commed Master Yoda." She fretted nervously with the selves of her robes. The thought of losing a young one obviously weighing heavily on her. "I thought that if anyone could find her it would be him." 

"The security holos?" 

"Avoid them she did." The aged Master answered.

His mind raced and began to fill with numerous questions. Why would she just get up and leave? How had she avoided all of the security? Had someone shown her? Was she outside the Temple? His mind stopped there. He didn't want to even begin to contemplate what could happen to her out there. 

"The other younglings. Are you sure they saw nothing besides her leaving? She didn't say a word to any of them?" A sudden thought struck him.

"None at all." Master Permian answered. 

"Not even to the other little girl she is always with?" He found it improbable that the other little one always in Ahsoka's stories would not have noticed or asked about it all. 

Master Permian met his gaze with a confused one."I'm afraid I don't quite know what you mean. Ahsoka is social, yes, but she has no set friend group or one I would call a best friend. She mostly sticks to herself." 

His eyes widened behind his mask. His own voice giving away his own confusion as well. "But she's told me stories of a girl she's played games with. Went swimming with them and their adventures around the Temple." 

Understanding brightened her face. "You mean her imaginary friend? Don't worry, it is normal for young ones at this age to have them and treat them as if they were real." 

Shocked again, he slowly nodded. That would explain why this friend never had a name or made a physical appearance anytime he was with Ahsoka. He turned once more to Yoda as a new idea started to form. 

"Master have you tried locating her in the Force?" Yoda had the deepest connection with the Temple and if Ahsoka is in it he'll be able to find her. 

Yoda's ears sagged. "Tried I have. Shielded she is." 

_"She is a child."_ His voice rang with disbelief. No child that young could hide their Force signature. Even Knights and Masters had a hard time mastering that technique. 

"Yes." Yoda agreed with a grave tone, "Not alone she is." 

He felt the blood in his veins freeze. 

**  
  
  
  
**

They had organized as many as they could to search the Temple and its grounds for hours. It was fruitless. No one had seen her. Which meant there was only one place left that they hadn't checked. 

"We need to go into the lower levels of the Temple." Mace uttered what they were all thinking. He could see the apprehensions of many there. The lower levels were restricted for a reason. Caved in areas littered with debris. Hallways that seemed to keep going and stairs that lead down that had no end. It was a nightmare to navigate. Though he was sure that none of those were the main reason many of them hesitated. They would all deny it but everyone knew that at one point they all had snuck down to the lower levels of the Temple. Daring each other to go further and further down. The record was held by Mace himself. No, the reason they hesitated was that the Force became more willful the further one went and it always felt as if you were being watched and deemed unwelcome the further you went. It was an experience that was best not done twice. They had each gotten the message clear. _Go further and you may never turn back._

"We should split the levels apart into groups. We could cover more grounds." Kit proposed squaring his shoulders. 

It took another hour just to have it all organized and in the lifts heading down. Each one there had sorted themselves into four groups each based on how far they had each gone. The upper lower levels, the middle levels, the lower of the lower levels and the unexplored areas. Plo himself had only experience with the middle lower levels but had declared he would accompany the only two other Masters who would search the unexplored areas; Mace and Yoda. Neither had looked surprised by this. 

The lift opened to a pitch black hall. Stepping out, they quickly lit their lanterns. They would need to see where they were going to make it down a series of stairs, the lifts only take one so far. 

"If correct I am, lower levels of the previous Temple this is." Yoda observed once they reached their destination. "Strong the Force is here." 

Plo felt a shiver run through his body. He didn't even need to stretch out his senses to feel the Force here. It was infused everywhere. 

"Remember to stay close and _do not_ reach out into the Force deeply." Mace warned him. "We will need to search quickly. The air down here is poor quality. Especially for a youngling." 

Plo would not remiss to say he was both awed and worried by everything he saw and felt as they searched level by level. Awed at how much remained intact from eras long forgotten.The history of it all could keep an archivist happy for life.The beauty of the structures would put newer ones to shame. Reaching out only a little he could feel generations of Jedi through these halls. Worried that Ahsoka had fallen through any of the cave ins that left holes in the floors. Worried at how long she had been down here and the air quality. Worried that if he and the others were on edge the further they went from the feel of the Force then what could he expect of a child? 

It was as he remembered it even further up; unwelcoming.The feeling of that this was not his time or place was at the front of his mind. As more and more groups cleared their sectors with no sign of Ahsoka, he gritted his teeth more and continued on. 

A clawed hand held up stopped Mace and himself in their tracks. "Feel that do you?" 

They exchanged glances before they both closed their eyes reaching out with the Force. Plo felt overwhelming Light and a Darkness clawing at its edges. Almost as if the Light was moving to face that Darkness. He looked deeper and reeled at what he found. There in the middle was Ahsoka, he was sure of it. He tried to locate her and could only feel that she was close. 

He came back with a gasp. "She's down here!" 

Yoda nodded his own confirmation. 

"If we all felt her then we also all felt what else is down here." Mace pointed out. "We need to move faster." 

They cleared the next two levels in record time. They were on their third when they came to a sudden halt,stunned by what they were seeing to move anymore. 

Ahead of them was Ahsoka floating above the ground bathed in Light. He didn't think before calling out her name. Her body came to a stop before turning to face them. It was a sight he would never forget. Her markings and eyes were glowing. Emitting light that bounced off the ancient walls. It was as if she was looking right through them. He made to move with a sudden urgency.

A hand gripped his shoulder. He turned back to see it was Mace. "I don't think it is wise to disturb her." His eyes locked on the form of Ahsoka that had already turned back around and continued moving."I'm not certain that _is_ her fully." 

He brushed off Mace's hand and looked at both Yoda and Mace in the eyes once and with all the certainty he could put into his voice said, "If we don't stop her now then she is lost to us." 

He wasn't sure how he knew this but he did. Whatever had taken ahold of Ahsoka wanted her and it was leading her in the direction of the Darkness he had felt. Light or not he could not allow this to happen. He saw the acceptance of his actions in both of their eyes before he took off in a run after her. He called her name once more as he neared and caught her around the waist. 

The Force roared in disapproval in his mind. It wanted its child back. It took all his strength not to obey the clear command and turn back the way he came. He raced past Yoda and Mace with a still glowing Ahsoka in his arms. He felt more than saw Yoda and Mace at his sides as they made their way up the levels. Areas that had been perfectly stable before quivered beneath their feet. It would not let go without a fight. He closed his senses to it all when it threatened to overwhelm him. 

The higher they climbed the less pressure he felt. The less Ahsoka glowed. Finally reaching the lifts they huddled in. The lift was filled with the sound of them panting for their breathes as they ascended. The stirring in his arms brought him back into focus. Ahsoka was twisting and wiggling as if she was trying to get out of his arms. Her mouth opened but it was not her voice. 

_"You don't know what you've done."_ Came another worldly voice. _"The Champion has been summoned home."_

That was all that was said before her body went limp and the last of her glow receded. Plo exchanged wide eyed looks with Mace and Yoda. Their own worry and confusion are clear to see. 

**  
  
  
**

They had split up once they reached the surface. Yoda and himself taking Ahsoka straight to the Halls of Healing and Mace to make sure that all other Jedi made it out of the lower levels. He joined them later in the night, pulling up a chair at Ahsoka's bedside. 

"Everyone was already out an hour before us and it seems that they had not felt anything in the Force." He said quietly.

"Sure you are?" Yoda questioned. 

Mace nodded in assurance. "If any of them had felt anything similar to any of us they would have spoken up about it." He turned his attention back to Ahsoka. "Has she woken up at all?" 

Plo answered him. "Yes, briefly. She remembers none of it. As far as she knows she was playing hide-and-seek with her friend and simply fell asleep waiting to be found." 

"Friend?" Mace's brow raises. 

"Imaginary friend we all assumed it to be. Not so sure anymore." Yoda explained. "It seems the Force has taken much interest in young Ahsoka." 

They were quiet for a time after that. None really willing to break the silence. But Plo had too many questions to keep to himself for too long. 

"What she said-", he stopped and corrected himself, "- it said. About not knowing what I've done and the Champion being summoned home…?" He trailed off. 

"Know not what it spoke of. " Yoda moved closer to Ahsoka to take one of her hands into his. "What it wanted with her I also know not." 

"It didn't want to release her." Mace said in a hushed voice as he stared at her face. "Why? Why her? Why now?" _Why when the supposed Chosen One was also here in the Temple?_ He didn't say but they were all thinking. If the Force was going to take anyone in the Temple you would think it would be the one born from it itself. 

Plo remembered the feeling of the Force when he had grabbed Ahsoka. The disapproval. _Even anger._ That something was being stolen from it. That it had been reclaiming what was theirs. He remembered its unwillingness to let her go. But he also remembered what it had been leading her towards. 

"I've never seen someone so filled with that much light before." He put it out there. "I also have never felt that Darkness at its edges before either." 

He received twin nods as they sat and pondered all they saw. It was Yoda who broke the silence this time. 

"Darkness closing in on the Galaxy, there is. Young Tano will play an important role against it." 

Plo felt his heart sink at that. He knew that Darkness would always be there and that it was gradually growing but it saddened him to know that one day it will fall on her shoulders to bear the fight against it. He could only hope she was a seasoned Jedi Master by then. He turned his head to a solemn Mace.

"What do you _see_?" Knowing he would know what he meant. 

Mace didn't look away from Ahsoka's peaceful face as he answered. "Shattered glass. Many lines branching off into many different possibilities. Her path will not be a straightforward one." 

They lapsed into silence once more as they contemplated what Mace had revealed and Plo came to an unfortunate conclusion. 

"I had wanted to train her as my own Padawan one day." He confessed what was not really a secret to anyone."I see that I cannot now." 

He felt the agreement in the Force. It was still shying away from him up here as if to punish him for his actions. To keep and train the one that he had stolen from the Force was out of question now. 

"An unusual Master will be needed." Mace committed. 

"Speak of this to others we will not." Yoda declared. "Know the truth of this no one will. Not even young Ahsoka." 

They leave that room in agreement.

 **  
  
**  
Later. Much later as a war rages on and he hears of a Goddess, a planet thought to never exist and Ahsoka's own resurrection. He begins to wonder if they had made a mistake that night. If _he_ had made a mistake in his defiance of the Force that fateful day below the Temple.

**Author's Note:**

> Was the Force leading her down to the to discover the old Sith temple below the Jedi ones? idk Was ahsoka always meant to be embodied by the Light side of the Force? i think so. Anyways thank you for reading and i hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day!


End file.
